Arrangment of sorting device for timber, in particular for logs



Aug. 6, 1968 A. RYSTl ARRANGEMENT OF SORTING DEVICE FOR TIMBER,

PARTICULAR FOR LOGS Filed Oct. 6, 1966 I T l INVENTOR'. AJi st M Qu-MJgum ATTORNEEQS United States Patent 3,395,785 ARRANGEMENT OF SORTIN GDEVICE FOR TIMBER, IN PARTICULAR FOR LOGS Alpo Rysti, Frisans, Finland,assignor to Sateko Oy, Helsinki, Finland, a corporation of Finland FiledOct. 6, 1966, Ser. No. 584,766 7 Claims. (Cl. 198-38) ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A device for sorting timber includes toggles which carry logsand which are movable upon parallel guides. Flaps are provided upon theguides at each sorting station which can be opened to tilt a toggle andthereby discharge a log into the selected sorting station. Guidingsurfaces restore tilted toggles to their initial positions.

The invention has reference to an arrangement of sorting devices fortimber, in particular for logs, the sorting device partly including aconveyor provided for transport of timber in its longitudinal directionmost appropriately by means of dogs or toggles moving along two guidesplaced in parallel, and partly compartments for the timber to be sortedwhich are located on one or both sides of the conveyor, the conveyorbeing fitted opposite to each compartment with said arrangement,adjusted to set a piece of timber free from the conveyor opposite to anydesired compartment.

The purpose of the invention is to obtain a positive sorting arrangementfor timber and which operates rapidly as required.

A sorting arrangement according to the present invention is mainlycharacterized in that in the guide or guides furnished for the togglesflaps have been provided opposite to each compartment, which can beopened with the effect that the dogs or toggles supporting the timbercan be made, at the sorting station desired, to assume an obliqueposition causing the piece of timber to be fed into the desiredcompartment.

In the following the invention is described with reference to theattached drawing showing one embodiment of the sorting arrangementaccording to the present invention.

In the drawing, FIG. 1 shows a sorting arrangement according to thepresent invention, viewed from the side at a point opposite to onesorting station. FIG. '2 shows the arrangement according to FIG. I,viewed from above. FIG. 3 is a sectional view through the arrangement atIII-III in FIG. 1, with the toggle in transport position, while FIG. 4is a section at IV-IV in FIG. 1, the toggle being depicted in obliqueposition.

The conveyor assembly includes two U beams placed in parallel and mostappropriately placed on edge, which constitute the guides 1. Theconveyor chain has been denoted with 2, and the toggle proper with 3.The toggles 3 are comparatively high, most appropriately 0.3-0.7 timesthe required length. The toggles or dogs move in transport position,normally, resting with their lower parts 311 on the guides 1. In orderto make the piece of timber 4 drop into the desired compartment,openings 6 have been provided in the upper flange of guide 1 opposite tothe compartment, these openings being closeable by means of flaps 5against the toggles 3 supporting pieces of timber. When the piece oftimber 4 carried on toggles 3 arrives opposite to the compartment, theflaps 5 have been arranged so that they may be opened with the effectthat the terminal parts of the toggle pointing toward the compartmentmay drop through the openings 6 and the toggles will assume an obliqueposition to discharge the piece of timber 4 into the compartment. Thetoggles 3 have, above their guiding portions 3a, additional guiding3,395,785 Patented Aug. 6, 1968 portions 3b, and the terminal parts ofthe toggles dropping down at the discharging station are arranged, aftertheir oblique position, to come to rest once more on these guiding partson the upper surface of rail 1. In order to open the flaps or equivalent5 with the purpose of discharging a piece of timber, they are actuatedin suitable manner. The flaps 5 may be arranged to be governedautomatically or manually from a special control point, suitably in sucha way that each flap or pair of flaps is governed by an electromagnet11, which is suitably energized in order to open the flaps. For this tobe achieved, the flaps 5 are suitably pivoted by one end to the guide 1and extended past the pivoting point to form an arm 7, which for openingof the flaps is acted upon by the electromagnet 11 e.g. by means of alinkage. After the piece of timber has dropped oil the conveyor, thetoggles are restored to normal transport position. In order to achievethis, the guides 1 have been fitted, at a given distance from theopenings 6, with openings 9 closeable by means of flaps 8 or equivalent.The toggles are then arranged to return to normal transport positionupon the guiding surface 3a under the elTect of extra guides 10 fittedto the U beams and engaging with the guiding portion 3b of toggles 3.The flaps 8 are arranged to open under action of the toggles and toclose by their own weight and/or under the action of a specialcounterweight.

The arrangements for discharging timber at other sorting stationsinclude arrangements similar to those described above.

The invention is by no means restricted to the embodiment presented inthe drawing; variations of different kinds are conceivable within thescope of the subsequent claims. For instance, the pivoted flaps 5 may beprovided with a special counter-organ preventing them to open too far,and ensuring more reliable action. Instead of providing and using theguiding portions 3b, the ends of the toggles 3 may be arranged to assumean oblique position at the unloading stations in that the guidingsurfaces 3a come to rest against the lower edge 1b of guides 1. In suchan arrangement the guides 10 have to be made to extend from the loweredge of the U beams to their upper edge. If required, the toggles may bearranged to assume an oblique position at the timber unloading stationsby such means that when one end of the toggle drops down the other endis lifted up and is detached from the upper surface of the guides 1. Itmay be advantageous, particularly in the latter case, to provide at themiddle of the toggle a third, stationary guide around which the togglespivot.

I claim:

1. A device for sorting logs, comprising in combination, two parallelspaced guide rails having guide surfaces, a plurality of spaced logcarrying toggles mounted upon said surfaces, driving meansinterconnecting and moving said toggles upon said surfaces, said guiderails having openings formed in said guide surfaces at specific sortinglocations, whereby a toggle reaching one of said openings tilts in thecourse of its movement so that a log carried thereby rolls off thetoggle and drops into a sorting location, flaps swingably mounted uponsaid guide rails for opening and closing said openings and meansactuating said flaps.

2. A device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said flap actuatingmeans comprise an electromagnet.

3. A device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the height of eachtoggle is substantially 3 to 7 times its length.

4. A device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said guide rail surfaceshave additional openings spaced from the first-mentioned openings andinclined guides extending upwardly in the direction of movement of saidtoggles to an edge of the additional openings for restoring a tiltedtoggle to its untilted position upon the guide surface.

5. A device in accordance with claim 4, wherein each of said togglescomprises guiding surfaces engaging said guide surfaces of the guiderails when the toggle is in its untilted position and other guidesurfaces located above the first-mentioned guide surfaces.

6. A device in accordance with claim 5, wherein said other guidesurfaces of the toggles engage said inclined guides during movement ofthe toggles from tilted to untilted positions.

7. A device in accordance with claim 6, comprising additional flapsswingablvmounted upon said guide rails for opening and closing saidadditional openings, said additional flaps being swung open by thetoggles moving upwardly upon said inclined guides.

References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS 2/1955 Finland. 6/1961 Sweden.

